CVE-2026-72086: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: xen: scsiback: Free the command tag on the TMR submit-failure path scsiback_device

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: xen: scsiback: Free the command tag on the TMR submit-failure path scsiback_device_a

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: xen: scsiback: Free the command tag on the TMR submit-failure path scsiback_device_action() obtains a command tag in scsiback_get_pend_req() and submits a task-management request with target_submit_tmr(). When target_submit_tmr() fails it returns < 0 and scsiback jumps to the err: label, which sends a response but frees nothing, leaking the tag. Impact: a pvSCSI guest can leak the command tags of a LUN's session, stopping the LUN, by issuing VSCSIIF_ACT_SCSI_ABORT or RESET requests whenever target_submit_tmr() fails. transport_generic_free_cmd() cannot be used here. By the time target_submit_tmr() returns an error it has already run __target_init_cmd() (so se_cmd->cmd_kref is one, not zero), and on its target_get_sess_cmd() error path it has freed se_cmd->se_tmr_req via core_tmr_release_req() while leaving SCF_SCSI_TMR_CDB set and the pointer dangling. Letting the command release run target_free_cmd_mem() would then double-free se_tmr_req. Use the same helper, which returns just the tag, on this path too.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.21%, higher than 11% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

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Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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